U.S. President Barack Obama (R) gets help from Major League Baseball World Series champion Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon and his team during a celebration in the East Room of the White House January 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is celebrating the World Series champion Chicago Cubs before he leaves office.

On what usually is a sleepy federal holiday at the White House, Cubs players filed into the White House East Room on Martin Luther King Day for Obama's final ceremony for a championship sports team. Even sweeter for Obama is that the Cubs hail from his hometown.

The president has a home in Chicago and is a White Sox fan. He rooted for the Cubs after the Sox failed to reach the playoffs.

To thank Obama for inviting them to the White House, the Cubs gave him various gifts, including "a midnight pardon" for all of his "indiscretions as a baseball fan." Obama's gifts included two jerseys with the No. 44, a framed tile from the Wrigley centerfield scoreboard featuring the No. 44, a lifetime pass to Wrigley field for the Obama family and a W flag signed by the entire team.

"Among Sox fans, I am the Cubs No. 1 fan," Obama said to applause.

Obama invited the Cubs hours after they won the series in November, asking on Twitter if the team wanted to visit before his term ends on Friday. Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts told the Chicago Tribune she kept in contact with the White House ever since the president invited them after the World Series.

She says they're able to take advantage since the team is back together for this weekend's Cubs Convention.

The Cubs won their first World Series title since 1908 by defeating the Cleveland Indians.